The New Year Thing

Last Night on Earth...

Sorry, couldn't help throwing a vague U2 reference in there...  (Strange, but I've actually softened to Pop over the years...)

And, of course, a very bad reference to the "2012 Phenomenon", as it's come to be known.  This round of wackiness just floors me.  You wonder how anyone with even the slightest scintillation of brain function could believe this hokum...  But, then again, look at the education system in this country...

Anyway, I've been a bit reticent to post much...  Just didn't seem to be the time for prattling on about computers, pens, and other silliness...

But, as it's the end of the world (OK, I'll stop), I thought I'd drop off a few notes...

Guess I should note that I picked up (and somewhat assembled) a new computer.  (yeah, yeah...)  Again, another bit of a collector's item, this one being an HP TC1100 tablet hybrid.  This was a rather cool little notebook/tablet computer system made c.2005-2006.  Apparently, HP took the design from a Compaq model they got after acquiring Compaq.  They seem to have fixed many of the problems with the earlier system, and made a handy little road warrior system out of it.

The TC1100 comes with a detachable keyboard (which can also be folded up under the screen for tablet use).  When it's set up for standard keyboard use, it sort of looks like a miniature desktop system.  Rather cool.  My only major complaint is that you can only use the tablet with a special stylus (which I had to track down separately.)  It uses a special version WinXP, which doesn't thrill me in the least.  But it's a cool, and capable little computer.  Mine came with OpenOffice on it, which isn't really useful for the stylus stuff, but it works.  It may get dragged into courthouses with me, next year.  (I hope...)

I'd throw up some photos of the little HP, but they're on my MBP, and I'm using my Powerbook G4 right now.  The reason for that is I was trying to get an old version of Macromedia Director set up to run under Classic.  Alas, the version I recently grabbed from Macintosh Garden was archived oddly, and you require an alternate unarchiving package.  After fighting with this for a while, I put the project on hold.  (I did find/grab the proper software package, but I'd lost my enthusiasm by then...)

I have so many things I really need to do...

Funny, how all those things get put off...

Especially right at the end of the world...

A quick follow-up...

It woke up.

But in its own style.

I put it in Standby, let it stand for a few minutes while I puttered about.  The nifty little blinkenlichten showed me it was in Standby mode.  When I opened the screen up, the blinker (OK, the power indicator...) stopped blinking and stayed on.

And the screen stayed black.  And no hard drive activity.  Though the Media Package indicator came on.

And I stared at the black screen for about a minute and a half before I tentatively tapped a button on the keyboard.  Nothing.  Tapped the "Enter" key.  Nothing.  Tap the touchpad button.  Nothing.

I was just starting to consider holding down the Power switch when...  Whizzz!  Whirrrr!  The hard drive indicator flickered up.  The screen came on with a cranky beep...

I think I'm going to shut everything down, and retire to my room to stare mindlessly at the 'tube...  I just for some reason don't want to play anymore...................

Penny Headaches...

Well, still too much tech stuff, but...

This is actually a bit different.  I'm not on the Macs right now, but on the Panasonic Toughbook CF-29, which has been giving me fits as of late.  It takes forever get past the Panasonic "splash screen" before booting up WinXP.  (Tells you how old this thing is, doesn't it?)  And putting it into Standby mode is a one-way ticket to complete narcolepsy.  It simply won't wake up.

The only thing I can say is that I was having no problems prior to testing the DVD drive on battery a bit back.  The battery, of course, drained almost instantly, so I shut down DVD player software, ejected the disk, shut the system down, and hooked up the power cord.  Since then, the Media Package power indicator has stayed on, and I started having "the troubles."

Nice searches via Google give me nothing, beyond vague references to "resetting the system parameters."  So, I booted the thing up, hit F2, then did F9, and let it reboot.  The progress bar at the Panasonic screen went a bit further than it has been going, then sat again for about a minute, before jumping into booting the OS.  I've run DSKCHK just for the Hades of it, and found nothing.  I'm just about the check the narcolepsy, but I don't hold out hope...

I am reminded, once again, (just as I was a while back when Norton Internet Security annihilated itself during an "upgrade" on my Toshiba) why I switched to Mac.  I generally don't have these problems on those systems.  I just have problems like "the Cube doesn't like the KVM switch", or somesuch.  IF you have a real problem with a Mac, it's generally nuclear, and and that system isn't coming back any time soon.  (I, thankfully, haven't had one of those.  Yet.)

If these nagging, just on the cusp of unusable, problems continue with this system.  I may be testing just how rugged an old Toughbook really is...  It may go nuclear...

Unwinding the Nightside

Important Point

Definite important point:  READ THE DOCUMENTATION!

I worry about myself sometimes.........

Obsolete kicks...

The Cube

Well, the Power Mac G4 Cube (to give it its full name) arrived today.  Serendipitously, the KVM switch did as well.

Not particularly serendipitously, the connectors on the KVM will not fit ports on the Cube...

Figures.

I did connect the monitor and keyboard/mouse up, just to make sure the system works, and it does.  Beautifully.  Granted, a 450 Mhz G4 processor is not a speed demon, but it chugs along nicely.  And the 1.5 GB of RAM helps.

And it's a CUBE.  It's just freaking cool!  If Apple would bring this design back, updated, I might almost consider scraping together change to buy a new Mac.

Though I do have to say, those Kardon speakers are bleeding HUGE.  Why do all the pictures make them look so small?

Silly side note:  I remember reading somewhere that they used a bank of 16 Mac Cubes to control all the graphics and displays on the series Enterprise.  Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but...

I have a CUBE.

Now, if I could only find room for a G4 "Sunflower" iMac..........

When things start slipping...

Well, here I am...  Two posts in one day.

Right after I posted the last entry, with its stiff-upper-lippery concerning how things were going with the ToughBook...  Well, it started acting up.  I put it in standby mode, and it would not wake back up.  I would have to use the power switch to shut the system down, then go through the over a minute of the computer sitting on the "Panasonic" splash screen (with the progress bar at ¾) before booting into WinXP.

Obviously, I'm not happy.

However, there's a nest of PC techies who have a nest not far from where I live.  I may just drop the blasted thing off with them, if for no other reason than keep my nerves from fraying...

So, I'm back on my old MacBook Pro, which just works when I want/need it to.

Well, to just get away from things, I started doing my normal Internet trawling, and ended up on the now sadly quiet Tiger OSX blog.  Reading one entry there reminded me that I really needed to look for a KVM switch for my desk.

Why, you may ask...

Well, I guess I should mention...

I bought a Cube.

The G4 Cube

Dammit, I've always wanted one.  Has to be one of the coolest computer designs ever.  And this one was at a semi-decent price.  And it's pretty well jazzed up, with extended memory and a decent hard drive.  And it's got 10.4 & Classic preinstalled...

And that KVM switch?  Well, I can use it to hook the Cube up to my current keyboard, mouse, and screen, without disconnecting my Mac Mini.  And it'll also keep me from needing to buy another keyboard, etc., for the new system.  Clever, eh?

Yeah, things are definitely slipping...

I think I've already slipped right over the edge...

And So It Begins...

So, the holiday season is off and running...

I'm not a "Black Friday" person at all.  Never have been.  I'm a terrible holiday shopper.  I'm the type who can never figure out what to get people, and when I do decide, I just want to buy the @#$&%! thing and get out of the store.  I'm not a good bargain hunter.

Besides, aren't the holidays supposed to be about family, friends, good feelings, those sorts of things?  Just sort of saying...

I've been doing my hobby switching again.  Cleaned and inked fountain pens, and have been toting my favorite Montblanc 149 about with me.  (It's a 1980s model, with a medium nib that would count as a broad from any other company.  It's a pen that very obviously saw considerable use before it ever came to me, which is why I like it so much.  This was obviously someone's day-to-day working companion, which means to my mind that it's a good pen.)

Actually pulled out a truly offbeat pen, a Visconti Cosmopolitan.  It's a sort of hybrid model that I believe was made up for the gentleman dealer I bought it from.  It's a huge pen, and I for some reason had it fitted with a truly huge stub nib (think writing with a paint brush).  I cleaned it and switched ink, and the thing behaves so much better as a writer.  I was impressed.

However, I did get dragged back to my oddball laptops.  I've been sticking pretty close to the Power/Macbooks, as I just haven't been in the mood to put up with WinQuirks.  However, I just got a new battery for the ToughBook in, and decided to give it a whirl.  The system is still behaving somewhat oddly, booting slightly slower than I think it should.  (The ThinkPads seem to fly by comparison.  And, yeah, I am used to my MacBooks, which boot almost instantaneously by comparison.)  Oh well...

So far, I'm writing this on the Toughbook (as the new battery finishes charging), and all seems well.  Not sure I'm in the mood to play with the system later on to test it.

Had the fun of doing some research for the local historical society.  May end up going back to the courthouse Monday to read old court cases.  If I thought the laptop was working well, I'd tote it along to write up a nice report for the folks...

Oh well...  The holidays are starting.  Obviously, being focused is not exactly a high priority right now...

Odds and...those things...

Still no pictures...   Oh well...

I've been lost playing with the new electronic toys, which is kind of pointless, but...

The IBM ThinkPad A31 arrived.  The seller put a clean install of Windows 2000 Professional on it, which was interesting.  I suppose Win2000 is the successor to WindowsNT, which I used ages ago in another life, when I was a servant to a government agency that must not be named.  Let's just say it brings back memories.  (Though this particular ThinkPad is far superior to any piece of technology I had access to then...)

Sadly, I did break down and acquire a Panasonic ToughBook.  (Don't know if I mentioned that before or not.)  I found a CF-29 for the cheapest possible price possible, and...  Well, you get what you pay for.  Hardware wise, it was OK, though the trackpad is atrocious (at times to point of being non-functional). Thankfully, I can use the touchscreen capability to get 'round that.  Software wise, however...  It's running WinXP, like the R40, though this system has 2 ½ the memory of the ThinkPad.  Someone prior had installed Google Chrome, which I loathe.  However, the damned thing wouldn't allow me to download anything, so I finally had to go a slightly updated sneakernet route, and copy AVG and FireFox over from the R40 via USB thumb drive.  A run of AVG showed the thing loaded with malware, which I finally got cleared off.  The battery, "guaranteed to hold a charge" did, for about 15 minutes.  Luckily, I'd ordered a new one, which works fine.

However, in the best Microsoft tradition, I can't get the thing to download system updates.  I'm going to try a workaround, but I just get tired of fooling with it after a while, and stop working.

So, I now have a functional ToughBook that should work to take into work situations with me.  We'll see how that goes...

Right now, I'm trying to copy over some images to the R40 to customize it.  (My inner geek demands I put the cool "MI-6" background from Casino Royale on it.  I know, I'm sad...)  I need to install a new TrackPoint cover on the 380XD (which I haven't had back out).  Need to get OpenOffice onto the A31.  (Again, I'll USB it over.  I haven't installed the wireless card.)

All those terribly inconsequential things in life.  Where would be without them?

New Arrivals Again

I managed to keep myself mildly busy today, which was actually more of a chore than working would normally be.  Fun.

Got home to find that I had a couple new arrivals at home.  (Alas, no pictures taken.  Maybe later...)

Ages ago, I'd won yet another Powerbook Duo 2300 off eBay.  I should've learned, after the last Duo debacle, which I documented a while back.  But...  Fools don't learn.  And, occasionally, they get lucky.  This is the most functional Duo model I've come across.  Duo keyboards are notorious for gumming up, and becoming non-functional.  This particular one works fine.  And it came with a couple extra batteries, one of which might hold enough of a charge to make it salvageable.  It's running System 7.5, and still has a nice software complement on it.  I'm very happy, as the Duo 2300 is a wonderful little computer, fun to play with.

And, to my surprise, the IBM ThinkPad 380 XD I talked about a couple days ago showed up.  What a beast!  The old bit about the designer of the ThinkPad series using a bento box as his inspiration really comes through in this model.  It's thick, and built like a tank.  Even more surprising was when I accidentally flipped the power switch.  The thing booted!  Off battery!  In the best Bruce Campbell tradition, Groovy!  It's running Win98, and it also still has its applications folder largely intact.  I notice it's missing a few drivers here/there, but everything seems to be working OK otherwise.  Even the TrackPoint, though heavily worn, works perfectly.  (I've got some replacement TrackPoint covers on order, so...)

The ThinkPad seems roughly analogous to my Powerbook 3400C.  (About the same size, too.  Though the 3400 is much more streamlined, so it doesn't appear as thick when placed side-by-side with.)

So, I've got some techie stuff to keep me occupied.  At least until the two other ThinkPads arrive.

In the silly-season file, I actually found myself looking at a refurb'ed Alienware laptop.  (!?!)  Granted, they're cool machines, with scads of power and all sorts of neat (if useless to me) features.  It'd look damn good sitting on my desk, pulsating.  But...  I'm not a gamer.  I have no interest in gaming.  (And, with all the goo-gahs, the battery life is pretty slim compared to even the old computers I use...)

And, more importantly, I can't afford an Alienware system.  (No comment about the hordes of laptops on their way to me.  They cost only pennies by comparison.)  Even a refurb.  And, furthermore, I really don't have any interest in putting more money in Michael Dell's pocket.

I really have to stop looking at computers for sale.

But, if I do that, I'll just start looking at fountain pens................

Making Do, Techno-Style...

On the tail-end of the last post, I was thinking (oddly enough) about the idea of "making do."

I may have wandered through this topic before, I don't really remember.  But I occasionally go off on my "nostalgic for college" riffs, and when I get into that, I always start thinking about my computer-heavy days of grad school.

My computer back then was a little Panasonic CF-150, which I used for everything from writing to programming to (yes) browsing the Internet.  (The world wide web was still a ways off from my neck of the wood back then...)  The little Panasonic was all I had.  It was outdated even then, but I had to make do...

However, I keep looking at my first Mac (the Powerbook G4 AlBook), running OS X 10.4 Tiger with Classic installed, and I think, "Damn!  This would've been PERFECT back in the day!"  To my mind, it's the ultimate "making do" computer for college.  It was fairly inexpensive, it had good performance, and (the kicker) I can get excellent software for next to nothing.  How?

Abandonware.  The old Classic software has largely been left behind in the OS X world.  But that doesn't mean it's not good stuff.  I've written over and over about using Classic word processors, all of which I got through abandonware.  But there are literally programs of all types out there, from word processors to spreadsheets to graphics to integrated suites to programming packages.  And, yes, games. And on and on...

If I were going off to college, the first thing I would do would be to grab an old Powerbook or iBook G4 running 10.4 (which is a bit on the abandoned side itself, though there is still good support for it via the user community), make sure it had Classic, and then hit a site like Macintosh Garden, and go to town.  You can load up the computer with incredible software, and the price can't be beat.  The most expensive thing you'd have to do would be to possibly upgrade the memory, and possibly get a new battery...

I'd have a cheap, easy to support computer with more power than most people need, and a boatload of high-power programs at my disposal.

Of course, having said that, I realize the very idea of doing this would be anathema to kids today.  Use something like, ya know, like... old???  Like, ya know, like not...  new???

I guess I'm weird that way.  I like the thought of being able to make do with something vintage.  You wouldn't think that of a guy who collects/uses fountain pens and old Macs, now would you?  (I haven't mentioned my Swiss Army Knife collection, have I?  The ultimate "make do" tool.)

I think I'm going to go play on an old Powerbook now.  And think about how I'm going to set up those old ThinkPads when they arrive....

When You've Done Something Stupid II: The Return of the Ludicrous

OK, you know something really good is going on when...

Let me just start this by saying that, yes, I am a die-hard Mac user.  (You've picked that up, haven't you?)

Well, years and years ago, i was a die-hard DOS/Windows user.  I had a whole string of Win systems, both laptops and desktops.  One of the systems I had was a low-end IBM ThinkPad.

I can't remember for the life of me what model it was.  I believe it was a 300-series model.  I bought it at Radio Shack back in the late 90s, and as I remember, it came with a 500 MB hard drive loaded with Windows 95.  And I loved it.  The ThinkPads were some of the finest laptops of their day, and this one lived up to that.  I remember toting it on the road with me, adding a 56K modem card that had a little pop-up phone jack...

After using this computer for ages, I decided I was going to experiment with this new thing called "Linux" which had just started its climb to popularity.

Stupid idea.

I don't remember all the particulars, but there was something about partitioning the hard disk, and a bunch of other stuff.  And then the hard drive decided to...  Well, something about it being unreadable...

Of course, I had never done the "create system disks" for my Win95 install (it was set up to use floppy disks, and I didn't feel like "wasting" around 20+ disks to create a backup).  I didn't have a copy of Win95 to my name, and I'm surprised the Linux CD survived the event intact.  (I actually tripped across them not too long ago, and was even after all this time, just seeing them gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.)

The little ThinkPad got packed away somewhere, replaced by a a string of generic desktops.  And many, many years later, I made the jump to Macintosh, and all that ancient WinBox history went by the wayside.  Until a few days ago...

I won't go into the silliness that caused me to remember the little IBM.  Needless to say, I got to thinking about trying to find it, and fix it up.  I have a good idea where it was entombed, and I even thought about excavating it...

But...  That would require effort.  If I really want to play with an old ThinkPad, why not find one already refurbished..?

(Now, why the blazes would I want to fool with an obsolete Win Laptop?  Well...  I read things like this...   And my eyes glaze...)

Mom always used to tell me that I get interested in something and promptly go overboard, so...  Without further ado...

My THREE new ThinkPads...

IBM ThinkPad 380XD, the oldest

IBM ThinkPad A31, which just looks cool.  Sort of James Bond-ish....

IBM ThinkPad R40, which is the latest model, and probably still somewhat usable in the "Modern" world.

Granted, I didn't pay much for these individually.  But, it adds up, as acts of stupidity usually do.  (It could've been worse.  I found myself looking at a Panasonic ToughBook CF-29 that was going fairly cheap, as these machines go.  It ended up going for more than I paid for all three of the ThinkPads combined.)

I have no bleeding idea what I'm going to do with these.  The R40 might be loaded up and used in situations I don't want to put my MacBooks in.  (Like in various courthouse record rooms when I'm working.)  The A31 might be a cool thing to take to the local coffee house and write with occasionally...  Maybe I can dig out some of the old games, etc., I have, and run them on the 380XD...

Oh, when stupidity strikes..........

Some opinions

They say idle hands are the devil's playground.  This is what happens when you stare at a computer screen with nothing pressing to do.........

Just started thinking... 

Yeah, got a little carried away with the "no button" thing...

You're getting the idea, right?

OK, grand finale with overkill.  Ducking for cover now...

Just Noting

I usually find Fall to be my favorite season of the year.  If only for the fact that it's cool.  (I really don't like hot weather.)

Usually, I'm rather relaxed in October.  I'm a Halloween fan, though in a non-participatory way.  It's a fun holiday.

However, this year seems to be a bit more introspective.  Not sure why.  I've found the general feeling a bit "heavier", if you'll pardon the word choice.  If you can believe it, I found myself briefly browsing through philosophy texts the other day.  (Georg Lukacs, anyone?  Michel Foucault?  Antonio Gramsci, maybe?)

Maybe it's the political nonsense that's running rampant now.  Or maybe it's work, or the lack thereof... I really don't know...

I was trying to go light this evening, re-reading Lynn H. Nicholas's excellent The Rape of Europa just to get my mind off and away.  (An excellent book, by the way.  Highly recommended.)

On that proverbial other day, I actually started to read Umberto Eco's The Prague Cemetery.  I had truly hoped it would look back to Foucault's Pendulum.  Alas, in the few pages I waded through, it doesn't.  It certainly isn't a book to lighten the mood.

Oh well...

The mood, the feeling, is heavy this day.  And I can't figure out why....

Digital Ghosts

And, yeah, I did copy it over to Nisus Writer.......

Rattling Nostalgia

Following up on the pens

And, just a few days later, all the new toys are in my hands...

I had gotten 'round to writing with the MB George Solti.  It has a wonderfully smooth medium nib that simply glides across even the roughest paper.  I filled it with Diamine Sapphire ink (thing a very purplish blue), and writes great.  People will say what they will, but Montblanc makes a good pen.

The Parker Vermeil 75, S.T. Dupont Orpheo, and Visconti Divine Proportion bp all arrived today.  Due to work, I didn't get to them till this evening...

The Vermeil 75 is indeed a handsome pen, though that's true of the entire Parker 75 line.  I haven't yet filled the pen, as I'm not sure I want to go carrying it around just yet.  Might set it aside for a bit, maybe put it to use around the holidays.  (I'm still using my "old standard" 75, which is a standard sterling silver ciselé model.)

However, I did fill the BIG S.T. Dupont Orpheo fountain pen.  It is a large pen, heavy, as the barrel is black lacquer over brass.  However, when the heavy chromed cap is posted on the back of the pen, it's exceptionally well-balanced.  Dupont nibs then to be some of the most graceful looking on any pen.  This was is a 18 kt gold medium nib, though this medium is a good bit finer than the MB mediums.  The pen has a very classy, in someway futuristic look.

And the Visconti ballpen...  It's very handsome.  And far better balanced than I expected.  I like the twist mechanism, which is quite solid.  And I do like the system where the spiral silver strips on the barrel are aligned only when the pen is retracted.  You can glance at the pen, and know it's safe to stick in your shirt pocket, without worrying that the pen will be open, and thus leak in your pocket.  (As a side note, the pen came with a gel refill, which writes very smoothly, but which would be dangerous to stick in your pocket open.)  Like the bulk of international ballpens, this one takes a Parker-style refill.

And, yes, I do know that I put way too much attention to what I'm writing with.  Most people are more than happy with a 29¢ BIC Cristal.  But, hey, you have to obsess about something...

Desktops

It seems to be popular to talk about the "computers I use" around the 'Net.  There are tons of videos on YouTube showing home offices, gaming setups, workstations, etc.  So, I thought I'd get in on the game.  Though a bit off-key-ish...

Since I tend to be out on the road, I normally work on various laptops.  But, occasionally, when I'm home, I'll fire up one of my desktop computers and do some work.  So...

Here's a shot of my two desktops:

My Two Desktops

The computer I normally use when sitting at my desk is that little silver box sitting under the monitor.  An Apple Mac Mini.  This one's an old G4 model, running OS X 10.5 Leopard.  It's got a gig of memory and an 80 GB hard drive.  I've added a 320 GB FireWire drive (which is hidden behind the monitor).  The screen is an old Acer from a past (gasp!) Windows system.  As are the two speakers peaking over top of the monitor.  The keyboard is an original, "tangarine" iMac keyboard.  And, yes, the mouse is actually an old "tangarine" puck mouse.

I had this system checked out, then set up by the folks of Operator Headgap.  Fine folks, who returned it to me, as they put it, "nicely configured."  (And the big disclaimer:  I'm not affiliated with Headgap, save as a satisfied customer.)

You might notice that other system to the left of the screen.  That's my Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh (or TAM).  The previous owner vastly upgraded it, installed 128 MB of memory, a 20 GB hard drive, and OS 9.1.  And, yes, I do use it.  And, yes, I do go online with it, via ethernet.  Not bad for a 15 year old system.

(As a sidenote, the TAM came to me with a copy of Microsoft Office 97 installed.  I was very happy to accidentally discover that Word 97 was blessed with a copy of the Shankar's Virus, a Word macro virus.   Needless to say, Office strangely disappeared from the system, to be replaced with WordPerfect 3.5e and Appleworks 6.  Better software to begin with.)

All the stuff stacked up on around and on the computers is part of my little Mac collector's stash.  On the keyboard of the TAM is an "Independence Day" Powerbook advertising pin, and an old copy the Apple Systems catalog on disk.  The stack of booklets are bunch of "AppleFacts" information booklets that were distributed to dealers.  These run from 1994 to 1999, and make some interesting reading for have-a-life-deprived people like me.

And, just to be completist, the other side of the desk:

The Other Side

There you go, a really nice view of that puck mouse, and of the Toshiba USB hard drive, along with the powered USB hub, on top of the Mini.  And, back in behind, almost buried under power cords and Post-It notes, is a couple of vintage Mac PowerBooks, a 180 on top, and a 520c below.

And, yes, that is a yellow Dalek keeping an eye on everything...  (For the "2001" fans out there, I missed the miniature black monolith sitting on the other side of the TAM...)

When You've Done Something Really Dumb...

Yes, I tend to do really dumb things...

When I get in a certain "mood," I have a very bad tendency to go looking for new "toys."  Sadly, my toys tend to be on the more expensive than Toys-R-Us type stuff...

I've been in a certain mood.

So, I now have some new toys on the way...

Montblanc Sir George Solti

Actually, one is already here.

I have been known to have a weak spot for Montblanc pens, particularly those that echo the style of the 1930s and 40s.  This is one of the "Donation Pen" limited edition series that Montblanc produces, dedicated to figures of cultural significance.  While I'm not a particular fan of Solti (he was an excellent conductor, mind you), I loved the design of the pen, and have wanted one for some time.   And, so, the chance eventually arose...

I haven't had a chance to fill or write with this, but it is a magnificent pen.  MB does not make shoddy products.

Now, for the ones that haven't arrived yet...

Vermeil Parker 75

 The Parker 75 holds an oddly sentimental significance to me.  The model was first released in 1964, only a few years before I was born.  It's the closest thing I have to a "birth year" pen.  And it is generally held to be the last of the truly "classic" fountain pens, all the while being a sort of transitional model over to the modern "cartridge/converter" pens of today.

The standard model 75 is a sterling silver pen with an engraved, crosshatch pattern known as ciselé.  They were expensive pens in their day, but designed to be perfect day-to-day working writers.  The early, American-made models are highly prized.  I have one that I use quite often, and it is sublime.

This particular pen is in vermeil, which is gold over sterling silver.  It's one of the rarer finishes for the 75 and, yeah, I've always wanted one.  (Look at this ad to get an idea why.)   And, if you wait long enough...

Well, I've waited literally years to run across one, so...



And the oddballs...

S.T. Dupont (Large) Orpheo

I've had a couple S.T. Dupont pens, a mid-size Orpheo and another model, the name of which escapes me.  They're great pens.  I actually took a liking to Dupont's after they released a "James Bond" commemorative model.  Those pen were pretty cool, though I never really wanted one.  (They were designed to only use small international ink cartridges, because they had the gimmick of having a detachable laser pointer built into the barrel.)  I took a liking to the design of the Orpheo, which was Dupont's flagship pen.  (I think they changed the name of the pen, from Orpheo to "Olympeo", though I may be completely wrong on that...)

S.T. Dupont pens are usually VERY expensive, but I found this particular one used, without a box, from one of the more reputable dealers.  (I add that last part, as there has recently been an influx of counterfeit Dupont pens, particularly on eBay.)

Visconti Divine Proportion Ballpoint

This one is the odd pen out, as it's (yes) a ballpoint.  However, this is sort of the pen case of "beggars can't be choosers..."

A few years back, the Italian pen company Visconti put out a limited-edition pen called the "Divina Proporzione", or "Divine Proportion" pen.  The pen was supposed to be made according to the "Golden Ratio" of 1.618.  (Remember, this was after The Da Vinci Code, with its dredging up of every obscure reference possible.)

Here's an article on the Divina Proporzione fountain pen.

Of course, given my love of anything even vaguely arcane, I took a shine to this pen.  But it was a limited edition, and the price was astronomical.  Luckily for me, Visconti decided they liked this pen, too, and began making variations.  The "non-limited edition" versions were simply called the "Divina" models, and I picked up a couple of these at reduced prices.  (One was a custom made version for one of the more prominent dealers in Italian pens, the other a special edition version which Visconti made for the 2009 G8 Summit.)  However...

Again, I played a waiting game, and eventually tripped across this ballpoint version of the pen, with the original box, for sale by the same dealer who was selling the Orpheo pen above.  While I'm not cracked on the ballpoint, it's sort of like the Montegrappa Gea pen I talked about in an earlier article.  This is as close as I'm going to (economically) get to this model pen...

So, I did something dumb.  I ordered a bunch of pens.  I really don't need them.  But I really wanted them.  For a long time, I've wanted them.

Not sure if that justifies the dumbness, but...  Not even sure if it cures the "mood" or not...

I have new toys.  Guess I should go play.......

Quick Update

I definitely have gone off the grid for a bit.

The New Job is taking up a goodly bit of my time, and my concentration, which hasn't been good for those random creative streaks.

Neither has the nasty throat infection which I picked up last week.  Three days of extreme (and worsening) pain and near inability to swallow finally convinced me to do the unthinkable:  Go to a doctor.   Or at least to a clinic.

I suspected strep throat.  Luckily, tests showed otherwise.  Just a very, very nasty infection.  Off to a good antibiotic regimen, goodly doses of painkillers, and a lot of zombie-like inactivity.  About 5 days worth of that, and...  Well, I feel better.  But the throat pain is still there, and tends to flair up occasionally.  I dread the thought of it coming back, as I missed a bit of work.  And I have a bit of work to do...

But I'm back on my feet (shakily), and back to work (in doses.)  And I've been thinking about the blog yet again.

So, sometime soon..............

Just waiting for input....

Neglectful

I've been neglecting the blog lately.

I mentioned I was starting up a new project, and that has brought about a good bit of travel.  I'm in and out of town.

It's so strange how you can find yourself staying in a new place, finding your way around, not knowing anything.  And, yet, there are those moments when it feels...just like any other place you've been.  Not so much a feeling of home, but a feeling of familiarity.

I suppose that's a good feeling.  Or at least one that serves a good purpose.

But, I have to run again.  More work to do.

Hopefully I can get back to writing things meaningful (or unmeaningful) later...

OS Extremism

I was just (re)reading Tim Edwards' article "Why I'm Uninstalling Windows 8", and not being particularly surprised by it.  Granted Edwards is reviewing a pre-release version of Win8, and I'm sure that there are those proverbial "rough edges," but...

A little background...

OK, I'm a Mac user.  If you've read any of my previous posts, you know that.  But I'm a fairly recent "switcher."  For 20 years, I was a  DOS/Windows user.  I still have a couple Windows systems running here, one with WinXP, the other Win7.  The Win7 system (a 17" Toshiba Satellite) still gets some day to day usage, while the XP system (an Acer Netbook) is only still maintained because I installed the Steem Engine (an Atari ST emulator) on it, and intend to one day get 'round to trying to try to fiddle with Atari software.

I feel I had good reason to switch.  I bought the above mentioned Toshiba brand new, and made good use of it on a project I was working on.  However, I'd always wanted to try a Mac, so I finally talked myself into getting an older used system.  That way, if I hated it, I wouldn't be out the proverbial "arm & leg."  Little did I know...

The system I bought was a then 6 year old, 1.5 Ghz, G4 "Aluminum" Powerbook.  Two GB RAM, and an 80 GB hard drive, running OS 10.4 Tiger.  (I went for the latter after a good bit of research on this thing Apple called "Classic," as I wanted to run older Mac software that I could pick up around the Net.)  What an eye-opener it was.

I know it's a blinding cliché, but the Mac...  Well, when a six year old computer runs circles around a brand new system...  What can I say?  I mean, I liked the Toshiba.  It was a nice system.  And I still have to admit that Win7 was a quantum jump over its Windows predecessors.  But...  I likened using Win7 to dancing with an elephant.  In fact, "elephantine" was the best word to describe it.  It took forever to boot.  A couple of us on the project had newToshiba's running Win7, and it became a standard joke about the unending update sessions that would tie up the system, usually involving reboots.  ("Please do not shut off your system. Windows is installing X of 50 updates...")  And, bluntly put, the interface was ugly.  It had all the appeal of the finest of Cold War East German design.  (One could almost hear a faux German voice intoning "Vherrrh-y Nhiiice!" every time you hit the START button...)

In contrast...  Well, you know the story.  The Mac just damn well worked.  Tiger was clean, fast, efficient.  Everything just made sense.  The transition from working with Windows to working with OS X was utterly painless, unlike switching from one version of Windows to another.

And, yeah, you DO know the story...  I will never willingly go back to using Windows.  In the words of writer and VP of IT, Steve Watkins on Low End Mac, "I have the radical belief that my computer should work for me." 

Now, with all that out of way, back to the Edwards article.  I'm not surprised that Win8 is a bit of a farrago.  Not surprising at all.  Microsoft is going down the same path that Apple is heading down with its OS 10.8 Mountain Lion operating system, only in a more shoddy fashion.  I don't like the "tablet-ization" of operating systems that's currently the rage.  But...  What can you do?

But what really appalls me about this article is not the commentary on/about the the OS.  It is what's in the comment section.  The vitriol of the commenters is...well, disgusting.  Now, I'm not saying that pro-Mac people can't go far, far over the edge in some of their "commentary," but the Windows fanatics...?  Come on!  This just stuns me, the level of almost violent rhetoric.

C'mon guys!  It's a computer operating system!  I use what I use, you use what you use.  I have my reasons for using what I do.  I assume you have your reasons for using what you use.  I may disagree with you, and obviously you would disagree with me.

Why don't we all let it go, and get back to using our computers?

Running Late

Been running busy these last few days.  Started a new project, which involves travel, etc.  Always fun. Of course, when you're getting things started, the last thing you think about is writing a blog entry.

Lots of odd things floating about in the back of my mind, and I'm debating what & when to write.

But, right now, it's late, and I'm tired.  Time to get some sleep, then come back it all tomorrow.

Turnabout

Just seemed the thing to do this morning...

This is going to be one of those days where I have far too much to do, and nothing will get done...

Wiling away

Another night of having big plans for writing, but not much coming of it...

It's been both a good day and a bad day.  A bad day as I haven't really felt up to speed (though I thankfully felt better than the night before), and a good day as a new project has come up.  I'll thus be back to work soon.  It will be great to see where that leads.

All of this has left in that sort of zen-space I occasionally fall into, the sort of "what-does-it-all-mean"-lite feeling.  I never really come up with answers during these little mental drift-offs.  But, then, I'm not putting much effort into coming up with anything anyway...

So, I'm ending my evening, having watched every "DVD Extra" feature on the "Two-Disk Special Edition" of Quantum of Solace.  (There's deep philosophy for you.)  Stack of Montegrappa pens beside me, obviously unused.  The nice, black Rhodia pad, unopened...

And a sudden mad desire to fly to Bregenz, and watch opera by the lake.  (Though not Tosca, please...)

I REALLY think it's time to go to bed....

Neil Armstrong

I completely forgot to put up a note on the passing of Neil Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) yesterday.  A very true American hero, and great loss to the nation, and the world.

Today, it seems we almost want to forget the heroic achievements of the Space Race.  But, for all the Cold War trappings, the Moon Landings do constitute one of the highest achievements of humanity.  Something we should strive for again.  Something that humanity, as a whole, should strive for.

Wouldn't that be a fitting tribute to Neil Armstrong's legacy?

Stress and Relief

It's been one of those days/nights.

A lot of traveling during the day has kept me from doing much online.  Then, this evening, the Internet service went down.  I am always amazed at how addicted we have become to this online world.

I was going to try to do something vaguely intelligent here tonight, but I'd simply drained.  I just spent the last hour or so fighting with one of my two remaining Windows systems.  I keep a fairly well-known internet security package running on that system, and it decided to crash prompted after doing an upgrade.  Therein followed entirely too much time wasted trying to troubleshoot on the system.  After that, entirely too much time wasted on trying to access the company's website, followed by not being able to find anything even vaguely like a decent trouble shooting system on the site...

I finally ended up deleting the entire cursed thing from the system, which then lead to me having to re-download it from the website, which lead to login problems, etc. etc.  Ad Nauseum, Ad Infinitum.

After much creative language usage, and threats to study the aerodynamics of a Toshiba laptop, the program is reinstalled.  I will say no more.

This is why I don't use Windows for anything important anymore.

The sad thing, about the only thing I use this system for anymore is to fiddle an Amiga emulator package I got not long ago.  I never got to play with the Amiga system back in the day, so I thought I'd give it a try now.  Of course, the emulator package seems to be mainly oriented towards games, though it does come with some cool stuff.  Including a copy of the very intriguing AmiKit package, which includes some nifty programs.  I find in most interesting to be browsing the web from inside a virtual computer system.

Right now I've got the emulator running various demos from its demoscene collection.  Some amazing stuff, considering most of these things were programmed a couple decades back.  Fascinating to watch, even relaxing at time...

How strange, though.  The machine itself is so stressful, yet the machine existing virtually within the machine is so...  opposite...

Old Tech

I suppose the name says it all.  And any old MacHead will immediately recognize the model, the Powerbook G3 "FireWire", AKA the "Pismo."  One of the great old warhorses of the powerbook line.
It was reading about the Pismo that actually pushed me over the edge into "accumulating" these old machines.

My Pismo, running OS X Tiger, with iTunes up to play a CD this evening.

I'd originally intended to pull out my G3 Wallstreet and fiddle with it, but for one reason or another, the Pismo ended up out and charging up.  I haven't used it in ages, and that's a shame.

This was my second Mac, and the first I ever really opened up and did work on.  That's why this model is so well loved.  Just flip the keyboard clips, and you're into the guts of the machine.  No playing with screws or such.  Amazingly, I didn't dry the poor thing while just installing memory.  This was the first system I installed Classic on, where I learned to "bless" system folders...  Funny thing:  I spend more time with the Classic emulator running on this system. than anything else.  I should've just set it up to dual-boot, but I've never had a problem.

Writer Tamara Keel, in an article on the website Low End Mac described the G3 Wallstreet (ancestor of the Pismo) as looking "...businesslike, still modern in appearance, maybe even faintly menacing. The person using a computer that looks like this is obviously writing another New York Times bestseller, leveraging a corporate buyout, or hacking into a Russian aerospace company's mainframes in a Hollywood thriller."  The Pismo shares that same aura.  The jet-black, curvy case (leaner and sleeker than the Wallstreet) does make it seem like you should be breaking into that Russian aerospace company real soon now... 

I've got U2 playing right.  "Last Night on Earth."  Kind of fitting for this "faintly menacing" old friend of mine.

Now, time to go write that New York Times bestseller.........

Playing with Toys

I guess it's something we hold onto from childhood.  Some of us, anyway.

There are just times when I like playing with some toys.  Especially when I'm sort of down.  Maybe it's a distraction.  Maybe it's just raw materialism.  I don't know.  But I find it relaxing.

I collect fountain pens.  It's a more widespread hobby than most people realize.  Like all hobbies, it has it's ups and downs.  There are times when I walk away from it for varying periods.  I always seem to come back, though.

The nice thing about collecting pens is that they're usable.  In fact, I can use them every day in my line of work, where I'm often taking notes all day while researching titles.  It's a kind of little known fact that fountain pens are more comfortable to write with than your average ballpoints and rollerballs.  Granted, there is a learning curve to using them.  You don't hold them like a ballpoint, and you don't write as fast with them.  It slows you down, which (yes) is a good thing.

Three vintage pens.  (Top to Bottom) A Waterman Taperite, a Wahl-Eversharp Doric, and a Parker "Striped" Duofold.  The latter is a family pen, given me by a late uncle.

I collect both vintage and modern pens.  Vintage pens are, on the whole, usually cheaper to get and easier to fix up and maintain.  While some modern pens are excellent practical writers, others are meant more to be pocket jewelry than anything else.  (The Visconti Romanica pen I showed not long ago is about as far in that direction as I usually go.)  Vintage pens were, for the most part, meant to be practical, day-to-day writers.  After all, they were the writing tool of choice "back in the day."

A 1920s "red hard rubber" Wahl pen set, with it's distinctive "Greek Key" machined-turned engraving.

Vintage or modern, I enjoy writing with my pens.  I'm not a particular grand writer, and my handwriting is atrocious, but there is something about picking up and pen and putting it to paper...

However, much as I like the zen-calmness of my pens, I do also have to occasionally give some play time to my electronic toys.  I mentioned last time that I collect old Mac laptops.  And, like my pens, I take to both old and new.

A MacBook Pro, three Powerbooks, and a real book...

However, I definitely tend to lean on the side of vintage here.  I like my Apples, but I'll be the first to say that collecting new models is a wee bit rich for my blood.  Vintage can be both affordable (all my older Powerbooks came to me from eBay), and cool to use.  Believe me, firing up a G3 Pismo in the local coffee shop can still get you some looks.  (I once had a cable repair guy go rapturous when he saw my old Powerbook 3400c.  "I've never actually seen one before..!")

Start up MacWrite or NisusWriter under the old Classic Mac OS...  There's just something different about it...

But that's for another entry...

Something bad - 1, Tech - 0

Problems.

I have this thing for old computers.  Particularly old Apple Powerbook laptops.  I like their distinctive look, that almost retro-techie aura.  You always knew a Powerbook when you saw it in a film, or a TV show.  (Though, lets not - ahem - talk about the Independence Day thing, OK?)

I also have a thing with collecting old Mac Powerbooks.  Or, to be honest, accumulating old Powerbooks.  I don't really have any rhyme nor reason for what I pick up.  I have a whole slew of them, most of them in some sort of operable condition.  I even use them on occasion, believe it or not.  (There is nothing as cool as plunking down a big ol' Powerbook 3400c or G3 Wallstreet, and firing it up.  But that's for another entry.)

So, back to my problems.

I recently obtained a "new" Powerbook off of eBay.  (I know, I know...)  This was a Powerbook Duo 280c.  For those of you who don't know, the Duos were the MacBook Airs of their day.  Sleek (at least for their day) subnotebook computers, with an almost complete lack of connection ports to keep everything as svelte as possible.  (Though they did have a really cool, and expensive, docking mechanism that remedied the missing ports.)  The coolest of the cool in laptop technology in the mid 1990s.

The 280c was a nice little system with good color screen and decent processor.  This particular one seemed to be in very good shape, and the seller stated that it had a Holy Grail for me, a still-functioning battery.  (The great curse with older Powerbooks is lack of working batteries.)  I was really looking forward to getting the system, and trying it out.

Alas...

The box arrived, nicely packaged, today.  I opened, and unwrapped each of the components: power supply, mini-dock, external floppy.  And, then, to the Duo itself.

Things started to go downhill when I noticed little chips of plastic collected in the bottom of the bubble wrap.  Not a good sign.  And then I looked at the battery...  Well...

When you can see the internal power cells in the battery, that's a bad thing.

I tried to do a boot - up on the system, but got nothing.  The case of the computer had actually been split open at the seam, enough to jam the screen latch.  I had to finally click the case back together, just to open the screen.  Definitely not good.

My sense is that the box was dropped somewhere in transit.  It looks like it might have taken a good whack somewhere along the way.  I'm still waiting to hear back from the seller, and then to get in touch with the delivery service.  And then go from there.

I get worked up about things like this.  They tend to sort of ruin the rest of the day.

Late Night Tech

From last night...

You know you may have gone too far when you need to have two laptops running at the same time.

MacBook and MacBook Pro, on joint duty.

But, DVDs look so much better on the 15" screen, and I really can't do my web browsing comfortably with a split screen.  I have my standards, you know...

I have a bad tendency to crash out on the bed of an evening, and not want to turn the desktop on.  So, I end up with my laptops spread all over the bed, running movies, websites, and programs in somewhat random fashion.

The DVD, by the way, is the marvelous Stephen Fry/Mark Carwardine documentary series Last Chance to See, the offbeat followup to the Douglas Adams book of the same name.  (Which is sitting on my shelf now, awaiting its turn on the reading list.)

More Pens

It's been a somewhat slow day that went by very quickly.  Make sense?  Nah, didn't think so, but take my word for it.  I really didn't get anything done, though I had all sorts of things I should've been working on...

I was actually wanting to write about something else this evening, but that would've required me doing a little work beyond (ie, taking some pictures, setting things up, etc.), so I decided to do something short  and (at least to me) sweet.

While wandering through some photos here on the MacBook, I tripped across a couple not-too-good pictures of a couple pens I've had for a while now.  Both are what pen collectors call "grail pens", ie, pens I've been trying to get for ages.  I thought I'd put them up here, and just ramble on about them a bit.

The first is particularly special to me, an Aurora "Leonardo de Vinci" limited edition pen.  I'm not a big person for LEs, as they're called, but I took a shine to this design when it first came out, years ago.  It's a cool design, with an intriguing design.  The cap is engraved with a selection of Leonardo's writings and sketches.

The Aurora Leonardo fountain pen

I went a little bit crazy with this pen, and I'll admit to it.  But it 's sort of a special pen.  When I got it, I was going to one of those crazy periods in my life, and was buying up some really expensive pens that I had always had a eye for.  I actually asked a great dealer I knew if he might be able to find another of these (he'd recently sold one, which got my interest up).  He made the round of pen shows, and contacted me with this.  The price was stiff, but it was a Leonardo, and I so wanted one.  And this one had a special little bit of cachet:  The serial number on the pen is "0000".  I don't know if that means this is a prototype, or it's the literal first off the machine, or what.  I've never contacted Aurora.  I've just enjoyed the pen.  (It writes wonderfully, by the way.)

 The second pen is a Montegrappa "Gea."  This one isn't a fountain pen, but is a rollerball.  I would love to have the FP version, but even I am not crazy enough (nor well-heeled enough) to lay down the kind of cash required for that.  I'm very happy with my RB, though.

Montegrappa "Gea" rollerball

The engraving on the barrel and cap is a map, done in a sort of Renaissance/Baroque style.  I've seen video's posted online of the initial production of these pens, showing the engravings being done entirely by hand.  I believe the barrel is sterling silver, with some gold foil overlay on the continents.  However it's made, the design of the pen is spectacular.  Mine is second hand, of course, and it's seen some heavy (and heavy-handed) use.  The section had some scarring on it, where someone went a bit wild opening it up to get at the rollerball refill.  But I don't care.  I enjoy it enormously, and can sit and look at the engravings for ages.  You'd think the pen would weigh a ton, but it's actually fairly light and very well-balanced, making it a joy to write with.

I have a weakness for stuff like this.  I call it my "gothic-y" side, even though "gothic" has nothing to do with it.  I've pointed out that I like the arcane, and these pens have a charmingly arcane feel to them. Like the Visconti Romanica I showed off earlier, these pens would feel right at home in some ancient library in a castle deep in an imaginary dark European setting.  Pens, used to help one ferret out the enigmas of the past...

I guess you take your fantasies where you can get them.  Mine sometimes come in the shape of a pen...

Pen Talking

I'm a fountain pen collector, and have been for ages.  I both collect and use them, as they (at least to me) the most comfortable writing instrument you can use.  In my line of work, I spend hours a day taking notes, etc., and you really want something that's comfortable to use.

This pen, a Visconti Romanica, is not exactly a daily user.  I picked this up a good while ago, and actually wrote a quick review of it for publishing on the Fountain Pen Network.  However, I never got round to it, so I thought I'd put it here.

So, here goes...

The Pen:  Visconti Romanica, sterling silver over a black body.

-- First impressions:  This is a LARGE pen, with a little of weight to it.  The design is quite beautiful, with the high arched “windows” cut outs, and the “brick work” engraving.  I particularly like the crenellations at the top of the cap and barrel.  The pen is heavy, but not uncomfortably so.  I’ve written with it for fairly long stretches, and have had no problems.  (And I do post the cap.)  Definitely a pen that attracts attention, without being overly gaudy.

Filling System:  The double-reservoir power filler.  Yes, it’s a bit gimmicky, but it works as advertised.  Having used the pen a good bit, I’m confused by some of the complaints I’ve heard.  The small reservoir seems to hold more than enough ink for extensive use.  (Unless you’re using it with a broad or stub nib.) I filled this up with Diamine Crimson ink, and have had no problems.

Nib:  23 kt Palladium - Medium.  Very springy.  I’m a lefty, so I don’t get all the “expressiveness” that some folks do.  But I like the nib.  It writes well.

Overall:  This is definitely a pen that makes a statement.  It is well-designed, well-built, and beautiful to look at.   Granted, it’s not for everyone.  It is expensive.  And the price is going to go up.  (I was lucky to get mine via the good graces of a friendly pen seller.)  The Romanica is well worth a look.  It’s a superb pen.  It’s the type of pen that appeals to my gothically-eccentric side.  I could readily imagine using this pen in some dark castle library while paging through ancient volumes by candle light…

Obviously, I don't tote this one around on a daily basis.  I'm usually in for the purely practical.  But this pen has that gothic-y air to it that just catches my attention.  So...  It's fun to write with, though you wouldn't really want to use it all day.  And it definitely DOES attract attention.